Personal details sold by councils for cash
Tens of thousands of residents' names and addresses have been sold by councils across the Black Country and Staffordshire to gym clubs, windows and carpet fitters, political parties and even a civil liberties group, it was revealed today.
The Express & Star has uncovered how many times authorities sold the full and edited register of electors over the past five financial years, and to which organisations each were sold.
The full register provides the names and addresses of everyone who can vote at elections, while the edited register is available for general sale and can be used for commercial activities like marketing. Electors can choose to opt out of appearing on the edited register.
Laws however dictate that councils must sell such details onto certain organisations, such as credit agencies, for negligible amounts.
Council chiefs today said they did not want to be bound to hand residents' details out.
All of the councils sold the full register to credit agencies but a range of organisations bought the edited version, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Councillor Chris Towe, Walsall's finance and personnel chief, said: "We hugely resent having to pass the electoral roll to direct marketing companies."
Walsall sold versions of the edited register 10 times including to three individuals. It also sold copies to the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, the Imperial College of London, Nulay Ltd, KH Promotions Ltd, and Walsall Hospice.
Details from the edited register were sold on eight occasions by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, making £228.50. Buyers included Abdul Qadus in 2009/10 – a former Lye councillor, who was jailed for passport fraud in 2002.
Unidentified political parties bought the edited register on 13 occasions from Lichfield District Council, bringing in £987.
Sandwell sold parts of the edited register three times to the Reverend Paul Akinpelu, of the Kingdom Life Apostolic Chapel in Birmingham, and to Bearwood Chapel and the Gurdwara Sachkand Isher Dabar Society in West Bromwich. The sales made a combined £393.50.
Wolverhampton City Council sold the edited register twice, making the authority £212.50.
The exact identities of buyers of the edited register from South Staffordshire District Council were not revealed but chiefs said they received £154 from sales.
Cannock Chase District Council sold the edited register three times for a combined £236.
Stafford Borough Council said it could only provide figures for 2011/12 and there were no sales of the edited register in that year.
